Unlocking game content based on amounts of collaborative gameplay

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to unlocking game content for users of an online game based on amounts of collaborative gameplay. Groups of users interacting with the online game cooperatively are identified and amounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the individual groups are quantified. Content in the online game is made available to the groups of users based on the quantified amounts of cooperative gameplay. In implementations, the quantification of the amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the groups is made independent from achievement and/or successful accomplishment of any game objective in the online game by the groups.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to a system for unlocking gameplay content forplayers of an online game together based on the amount of usage of thecooperative play between the users.

BACKGROUND

It is known that within online games, users tend to participate invarious aspects of the game and engage in cooperative play. Typically,small groups of users perform set tasks or objectives, such as “dungeonruns”, or player group vs. player group contests (e.g., battles, sportsgames, etc.). In some of these, a large number of users may battle onopposite sides and be adversaries. In such play, successful groups canunlock content through achievement (e.g., defeating a boss, etc.).

Players playing an online game together tend to be more engaged with thegame, and to spend more money on power-ups, etc., to keep up a higherpace of play. However, no mechanisms exist to reward players purely forplaying together, as opposed to achieving together. Players who enjoyplaying together may nevertheless choose not to play together any moreif they are not successful in their activities and therefore notrewarded by unlocked content.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a system for unlocking gamecontent for users of an online game based on the amount of cooperativegameplay between the users. The content unlocked may be based only onquantified amounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by groups of usersand not on the accomplishment of any game objective.

In implementations, a system may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute computer program modules. The computer programmodules may include one or more of a game module, a cooperative usagemodule, a content module, and/or other modules.

The game module may be configured to execute an instance of the onlinegame to facilitate presentation of the online game to the users. Thegame module may be configured to implement in-game actions in theinstance of the online game in response to action requests for thein-game actions from the users.

The cooperative usage module may be configured to identify groups ofusers interacting with the online game cooperatively and to quantifyamounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the individual groups. Inimplementations, an amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in by usersin an identified first group is quantified.

The content module may be configured to make content in the online gameavailable to the groups of users based on the quantified amounts ofcooperative gameplay. In implementations, a first set of content is madeavailable to the users in the first group based on the quantified amountof cooperative gameplay by the first group of users.

In implementations, the quantification of the amount of cooperativegameplay engaged in by users in the first group is made independent fromachievement and/or successful accomplishment of any game objective inthe online game by the users in the first group.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay are quantifiedbased on amounts of cooperative activity by the groups of users towardsone or more particular objectives.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay are quantifiedbased on amounts of cooperative activity by the groups of users in theon-line game as a whole.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay are cumulativeover a period of time.

In implementations, the period of time is the entire in-game life of theusers or a sliding window of a certain number of days.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay are quantifiedin time spent by the users in cooperative activities.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay are quantifiedin at least one of number of sessions in which the users participated incooperative activities, number of cooperative attempts at an objective,and number of times participating in a given cooperative activity.

In implementations, the content comprises at least one of new quests,new map regions, new weapons, new technology, new skills, new troupes,new mounts, and new power-ups available for purchase.

In implementations, the content is made available to the groups of usersfor cooperative gameplay and not for solo gameplay by the individualusers of the groups.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for unlocking game content for users of anonline game based on amounts of cooperative gameplay, in accordance withone or more implementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for unlocking game content for users of anonline game based on amounts of cooperative gameplay, in accordance withone or more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 configured to unlock game content forusers of an online game based on amounts of cooperative gameplay. Insome implementations, system 100 may include one or more servers 102.The server(s) 102 may be configured to communicate with one or moreclient computing platforms 104 according to a client/serverarchitecture. The users may access system 100 and/or the virtual spacevia client computing platforms 104, for instance, to engage in one ormore online games.

System 100 is only one example of a suitable computing environment andis not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the features described herein. Providing the virtualspace may include hosting the virtual space over a network. In thisdisclosure, a user of an online game may engage in cooperative gameplayas a member of a group of users. Content associated with the online gamemay be made available to the user based on a quantified amount ofcooperative gameplay by the group of users. The content may be madeavailable independent from achievement and/or successful accomplishmentof any game objective in the online game by the users in the group.

In some implementations, system 100 may include one or more servers 102.The server 102 may be configured to communicate with one or more clientcomputing platforms 104 according to a client/server architecture. Theusers may access system 100 and/or the virtual space via clientcomputing platforms 104, for instance, to engage in one or more games.

The server(s) 102 may be configured to execute one or more computerprogram modules. The computer program modules may include one or more ofa game module 106, a cooperative usage module 108, a content module 110,and/or other modules. As noted, the client computing platform(s) 104 mayinclude one or more computer program modules that are the same as orsimilar to the computer program modules of the server(s) 102 tofacilitate in-game actions.

The game module 106 may be configured to execute an instance of a gameto facilitate presentation of the game to users. The game module 106 maybe configured to implement in-game actions in the instance of the game,in response to action requests for the in-game actions by the users.

The game may be provided via a virtual space, and may include aplurality of resource types and/or maps. An instance of the virtualspace may be executed by computer modules to determine views of thevirtual space. The views may then be communicated (e.g., via streaming,via object/position data, and/or other information) from server(s) 102and/or sources to client computing platforms 104 for presentation tousers. The view determined and transmitted to a given client computingplatform 104 may correspond to a location in the virtual space (e.g.,the location from which the view is taken, the location the viewdepicts, and/or other locations), a zoom ratio, a dimensionality ofobjects, a point-of-view, and/or view parameters. One or more of theview parameters may be selectable by the user.

The instance of the virtual space may comprise a simulated space that isaccessible by users via clients (e.g., client computing platform(s) 104)that present the views of the virtual space to a user. The simulatedspace may have a topography, express ongoing real-time interaction byone or more users, and/or include one or more objects positioned withinthe topography that are capable of locomotion within the topography. Insome instances, the topography may be a 2-dimensional topography. Inother instances, the topography may be a 3-dimensional topography. Thetopography may include dimensions of the space, and/or surface featuresof a surface or objects that are “native” to the space. In someinstances, the topography may describe a surface (e.g., a groundsurface) that runs through at least a substantial section of the space.In some instances, the topography may describe a volume with one or morebodies positioned therein (e.g., a simulation of gravity-deprived spacewith one or more celestial bodies positioned therein). The instanceexecuted by the computer modules may be synchronous, asynchronous,and/or semi-synchronous.

The above description of the manner in which views of the virtual spaceare provided is not intended to be limiting. The virtual space may beexpressed in a more limited, or more rich, manner. For example, viewsdetermined for the virtual space may be selected from a limited set ofgraphics depicting an event in a given place within the virtual space.The views may include additional content (e.g., text, audio, pre-storedvideo content, and/or other content) that describes particulars of thecurrent state of the place, beyond the relatively generic graphics. Forexample, a view may include a generic battle graphic with a textualdescription of the opponents to be confronted. Other expressions ofindividual places within the virtual space are contemplated.

Within the instance(s) of the virtual space, users may controlcharacters, objects, simulated physical phenomena (e.g., wind, rain,earthquakes, and/or other phenomena), and/or other elements within thevirtual space to interact with the virtual space and/or each other. Theuser characters may include avatars. As used herein, the term “usercharacter” may refer to an object (or group of objects) present in thevirtual space that corresponds to an individual user. The user charactermay be controlled by the user with which it is associated.

User-controlled element(s) may move through and interact with thevirtual space (e.g., non-user characters in the virtual space, otherobjects in the virtual space). The user-controlled elements controlledby and/or associated with a given user may be created and/or customizedby the given user. The user may have an “inventory” of virtual goodsand/or currency (e.g., resources of the plurality of resource types)that the user can use (e.g., by manipulation of a user character orother user-controlled element, and/or other items) to perform in-gameactions within the virtual space.

The users may participate in the instance of the virtual space bycontrolling one or more of the available user-controlled elements in thevirtual space. Control may be exercised through control inputs and/orcommands input by the users through client computing platforms 104. Theusers may interact with each other through communications exchangedwithin the virtual space. Such communications may include one or more oftextual chat, instant messages, private messages, voice communications,and/or other communications. Communications may be received and enteredby the users via their respective client computing platforms 104.Communications may be routed to and from the appropriate users throughserver(s) 102.

The cooperative usage module 108 may be configured to identify groups ofusers interacting with the online game cooperatively and to quantifyamounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the individual groups. Inimplementations, the cooperative usage module is configured such thatthe quantification of the amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in bythe individual groups is made independent from achievements and/oraccomplishments of any game objective in the online game by the users inthe groups.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative gameplay may bequantified based on amounts of cooperative activity by the groups ofusers towards one or more particular objectives and/or based on amountsof cooperative activity by the individual groups of users in the on-linegame as a whole. The amounts of cooperative gameplay may be cumulativeover a period of time, such as the entire in-game life of the users or asliding window of a certain number of days. The amounts of cooperativegameplay may be quantified in time spent by the users in cooperativeactivities, number of sessions in which the users participated incooperative activities, number of cooperative attempts at an objective,and/or number of times participating in a given cooperative activity.The amount of cooperative gameplay determined for a first group (e.g.,including a first player and a second player) may include or exclude,depending on the implementation, periods of time and/or activitieswithin the game when the players of the first group are engaged incooperative gameplay together, and with a player that is not a member ofthe first group (e.g., a third player). The amount of cooperativegameplay determined for the first group may exclude periods of timeand/or activities within the game when less than all of the players ofthe first group are engaged in cooperative gameplay together (e.g., whenthe first player is missing). The amount of cooperative gameplaydetermined for the first group may include periods of time and/oractivities within the game when less than all of the players of thefirst group are engaged in cooperative gameplay together so long as somethreshold level of participation is achieved. The threshold level ofparticipation may include a percentage of the first group as a wholethat are engaged in the cooperative gameplay, a minimum number ofplayers from the first group that are engaged in the cooperativegameplay, and/or other levels.

The content module 110 may be configured to make content in the onlinegame available to the groups of users based on the quantified amounts ofcooperative gameplay. In implementations, the content includes newquests, new map regions, new weapons, new technology, new skills, newtroupes, new mounts, new power-ups available for purchase, and/or othernew content. In implementations, the content may be made available tothe groups of users for cooperative gameplay and not for solo gameplayby the individual users of the groups.

Since the cooperative usage module 108 may quantify the amount ofcooperative gameplay by a group of users without regard for achievementduring such cooperative gameplay, the content module 110 may makecontent available in the online game to the group even if the group ofusers does not excel or achieve in the cooperative gameplay. This maydistinguish the release of content by the content module 110 fromconvention games in which users can play cooperatively in a game (e.g.,as members of a raid through a dungeon instance) to have contentunlocked (e.g., an item drop, a level unlock, and/or other contentunlocks) based on successfully completing one or more game objectives(e.g., defeating a boss character, performing in a race, and/or othergame objectives). Instead, the content released by the content module110 may reward users for cooperative gameplay in and of itself.

In some implementations, server(s) 102, client computing platforms 104,and/or external resources 116 may be operatively linked via one or moreelectronic communication links. For example, such electroniccommunication links may be established, at least in part, via a networksuch as the Internet and/or other networks. The network may be a wiredor wireless network such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, acellular network or another type of network. It will be understood thatthe network may be a combination of multiple different kinds of wired orwireless networks. It will be appreciated that this is not intended tobe limiting, and that the scope of this disclosure includesimplementations in which server(s) 102, client computing platforms 104,and/or external resources 116 may be operatively linked via some othercommunication media.

A given client computing platform 104 may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute computer program modules. The computer programmodules may be configured to enable an expert or user associated withthe given client computing platform 104 to interface with system 100and/or external resources 116, and/or provide other functionalityattributed herein to client computing platforms 104. By way ofnon-limiting example, the given client computing platform 104 mayinclude one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheldcomputer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, a Smartphone, a gamingconsole, and/or other computing platforms.

External resources 116 may include sources of information, hosts and/orproviders of virtual environments outside of system 100, externalentities participating with system 100, and/or other resources. In someimplementations, some or all of the functionality attributed herein toexternal resources 116 may be provided by resources included in system100.

Server 102 may include electronic storage 118, one or more processors120, and/or other components. Server 102 may include communicationlines, or ports to enable the exchange of information with a networkand/or other computing platforms. Illustration of server 102 in FIG. 1is not intended to be limiting. Server 102 may include a plurality ofhardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together toprovide the functionality attributed herein to server 102. For example,server 102 may be implemented by a cloud of computing platformsoperating together as server 102.

Electronic storage 118 may comprise non-transitory storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 118 may include one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server 102and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server 102via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or adrive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 118 may include oneor more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage118 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloudstorage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). Electronic storage 118 may store software algorithms,information determined by processor 120, information received fromserver 102, information received from client computing platforms 104,and/or other information that enables server 102 to function asdescribed herein.

Processor(s) 120 is configured to provide information processingcapabilities in server 102. As such, processor 120 may include one ormore of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuitdesigned to process information, an analog circuit designed to processinformation, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronicallyprocessing information. Although processor 120 is shown in FIG. 1 as asingle entity, this is for illustrative purposes only. In someimplementations, processor 120 may include a plurality of processingunits. These processing units may be physically located within the samedevice, or processor 120 may represent processing functionality of aplurality of devices operating in coordination. The processor 120 may beconfigured to execute modules 106, 108 and 110. Processor 120 may beconfigured to execute modules 106, 108 and 110 by software; hardware;firmware; some combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware;and/or other mechanisms for configuring processing capabilities onprocessor 120. As used herein, the term “module” may refer to anycomponent or set of components that perform the functionality attributedto the module. This may include one or more physical processors duringexecution of processor readable instructions, the processor readableinstructions, circuitry, hardware, storage media, or any othercomponents.

It should be appreciated that although modules 106, 108 and 110 areillustrated in FIG. 1 as being implemented within a single processingunit, in implementations in which processor 120 includes multipleprocessing units, one or more of modules 106, 108, and 110 may beimplemented remotely from the other modules. The description of thefunctionality provided by the different modules 106, 108 and 110described below is for illustrative purposes, and is not intended to belimiting, as any of modules 106, 108 and 110 may provide more or lessfunctionality than is described. For example, one or more of modules106, 108 and 110 may be eliminated, and some or all of its functionalitymay be provided by other ones of modules 106, 108 and 110. As anotherexample, processor 120 may be configured to execute one or moreadditional modules that may perform some or all of the functionalityattributed below to one of modules 106, 108 and 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 for unlocking gameplay content based onamounts of cooperative gameplay. The operations of method 200 presentedbelow are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, method 200may be accomplished with one or more additional operations notdescribed, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed.Additionally, the order in which the operations of method 200 areillustrated in FIG. 2 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some embodiments, method 200 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 200 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 200.

At an operation 202, an instance of an online game may be executed tofacilitate presentation of the game to users. The game, for instance,may include parameters including a size and/or type of virtual space thegame will be played on, the number of players, resource types,user-controlled elements, and/or buildings initially allocated to users.Operation 202 may be performed by a game module that is the same as orsimilar to game module 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

At an operation 204, in-game actions may be implemented in the instanceof the game in response to action requests for in-game actions by theusers. Operation 204 may be performed by a game module that is the sameor similar to game module 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

At an operation 206, groups of users interacting with the online gamecooperatively are identified, including a first group of users. Inimplementations, this identification may be performed in a variety ofdifferent manners. For example, users may explicitly choose to form agroup, or groups may be identified based on proximity and for examplelength of time within a certain radius or pursuing shared objectives,and/or based on in-game interactions such as trading orchatting/communicating. Operation 206 may be performed by a cooperativeusage module that is the same or similar to cooperative usage module108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At operation 208 amounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by theindividual groups are quantified such that for the identified firstgroup, an amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the users in thefirst group is quantified. In implementations, the quantification of theamount of cooperative game engaged in by users in the first group atoperation 208 is made independent from achievement and/or successfulaccomplishment of any game objective in the online game by the users inthe first group. So, for example, the quantification may be based on howmany cooperative attempts were made at a certain objective or type ofobjective, or how much time was spent cooperatively trying to achieve anobjective, but not whether the objective was actually achieved.

In implementations, the amounts of cooperative usage may be determinedbased on the amounts of cooperative activity by the groups of userstowards one or more objectives or in the online game as a whole, and maybe cumulative over a period of time (e.g., entire in-game life of theusers and/or a sliding window of a certain number of days). Thecooperative usage at operation 208 may be quantified in a number ofsessions in which the users have participated in cooperative activities,a number of cooperative attempts at an objective, and/or a number oftimes participating in a given cooperative activity.

For example, cooperative usage may be quantified by an amount of timeduring which a group of users, or a certain minimum percentage of thegroup of users, were active and within a certain proximity of oneanother (e.g. the same game screen, or an in-game distance such as a“mile” within the virtual space). That amount of time may be over theentire history of the group, or over for example the last month or lastthree months. The amount of cooperative usage by a group may also bequantified as the number of discrete sessions in which the users of thegroup (or a minimum percentage thereof) participated in cooperativeactivities. A given session may be considered to end when, for example,the number of users in the group in proximity to one another drops belowa minimum percentage, or level of activity drops too low (e.g. users are“standing around” and not actively fighting, trading, etc.). The amountof cooperative usage by a group may also be quantified as the number ofattempts made by the group to cooperatively achieve an objective, suchas a given quest or group of quests. Amounts of cooperative usage mayalso be quantified as a combination of one or more of the aboveexamples, for example amount of time spent cooperatively over the entirehistory of the group plus ten times (or some other multiple) the timespent cooperatively over the last month. Operation 208 may be performedby a cooperative usage module that is the same or similar to cooperativeusage module 108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At operation 210, content in the online game is made available to thegroups of users based on the quantified amounts of cooperative gameplay.The content includes a set of content made available to the users in thefirst group based on the quantified amount of cooperative gameplayperformed by the first group of users. In implementations, the contentunlocked during cooperative gameplay may consist of new quests, new mapregions, new weapons, new technology, new skills, new troupes, newmounts and new power-ups. The content unlocked during the cooperativegameplay may be made available to the groups of users for cooperativegameplay and not for solo gameplay by the individual users of thegroups. For example, if two users play together constantly, as theamount of their cooperative gameplay exceeds threshold amounts new typesof quests may be unlocked for the two of them playing together, and thiscontent may be unavailable to each of the two users when playing withoutthe other.

The type of content unlocked may vary depending on the quantification ofamount of cooperative gameplay. For example, amount of cooperativegameplay may be quantified based both on total time spent in cooperativeactivities overall and total time spent in particular cooperativeactivities such as attempting to complete a certain quest, engaging in acertain activity such as resource harvesting, and/or within a certaingame region. As total time spent in cooperative activities overallcrosses thresholds, new regions may be made available to the group, astotal time spent in a certain region crosses thresholds, new quests inthat region may be made available to the group, as total time spentharvesting crosses thresholds, new harvesting skills and power-ups maybe made available to the group, etc. Operation 210 may be performed by acontent module that is the same or similar to content module 110, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

Although the present technology has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gaming system for rewarding users of an onlinegame based on cooperative gameplay among multiple users, wherein gamestate information of an instance of the online game facilitatespresentation of the online game to the users via client computingplatforms that are associated with the users, the gaming systemcomprising: a memory; and game server, the game server comprising: oneor more processors configured by machine-readable instructions to:identify groups of users interacting with the online game cooperativelyto progress toward one or more game objectives; determine amounts ofcooperative gameplay engaged in by individual ones of the identifiedgroups in the online game such that, for a first identified group ofusers engaged in cooperative gameplay toward one or more first gameobjectives, a first amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in by thefirst identified group of users is determined, wherein the first amountof cooperative gameplay is based on a first amount of time spent by thefirst identified group of users during the cooperative gameplay in theonline game; determine a first reward, wherein determination of thefirst reward is based on the first amount of cooperative gameplayengaged in by the first identified group of user, wherein the firstreward is not available to individual ones of the users for sologameplay; and reward the identified groups of users based on thedetermined amounts of cooperative gameplay without regard to whether theidentified groups of users are successful in achieving any particulargame objectives, wherein rewards include the first reward made availableto the first identified group of users.
 2. The gaming system of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readableinstructions such that determination of the first amount of cooperativegameplay is made independent from achievement and/or successfulaccomplishment of any particular game objectives in the online game byusers in the first identified group of users.
 3. The gaming system ofclaim 1, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay are determinedbased on amounts of cooperative activity by the identified groups ofusers towards one or more particular game objectives.
 4. The gamingsystem of claim 1, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay aredetermined based on amounts of cooperative activity by the identifiedgroups of users in the online game as a whole.
 5. The gaming system ofclaim 1, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay are cumulative overa period of time.
 6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein the period oftime is the entire in-game life of the users or a sliding window oftime.
 7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the amounts ofcooperative gameplay are determined based on time spent by the users incooperative activities.
 8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein theamounts of cooperative gameplay are determined further based on at leastone of number of sessions in which the users participated in cooperativeactivities, number of cooperative attempts at achieving a particulargame objective, and number of times participating in a given cooperativeactivity.
 9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the rewards includeat least one of new quests, new map regions, new weapons, newtechnology, new skills, new troupes, new mounts, and new power-upsavailable for purchase.
 10. A computer-implemented method for rewardingusers of an online game based on cooperative gameplay among multipleusers, wherein game state information of an instance of the online gamefacilitates presentation of the online game to the users via clientcomputing platforms that are associated with the users, the method beingimplemented in a gaming system that includes a game server, the gameserver including one or more processors, the method comprising:identifying groups of users interacting with the online gamecooperatively to progress toward one or more game objectives;determining amounts of cooperative gameplay engaged in by individualones of the identified groups in the online game such that, for a firstidentified group of users engaged in cooperative gameplay toward one ormore first game objectives, a first amount of cooperative gameplayengaged in by the first identified group of users is determined, whereinthe first amount of cooperative gameplay is based on a first amount oftime spent by the first identified group of users during the cooperativegameplay in the online game; determining a first reward based on thefirst amount of cooperative gameplay engaged in by the first identifiedgroup of user, wherein the first reward is not available to individualones of the users for solo gameplay; and rewarding the identified groupsof users based on the determined amounts of cooperative gameplay withoutregard to whether the identified groups of users are successful inachieving any particular game objectives, wherein rewards include thefirst reward made available to the first identified group of users. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein determination of the first amount ofcooperative gameplay is made independent from achievement and/orsuccessful accomplishment of any particular game objectives in theonline game by users in the first identified group of users.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay aredetermined based on amounts of cooperative activity by the identifiedgroups of users towards one or more particular game objectives.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay aredetermined based on amounts of cooperative activity by the identifiedgroups of users in the on-line game as a whole.
 14. The method of claim10, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay are cumulative over aperiod of time.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the period of timeis the entire in-game life of the users or a sliding window of time. 16.The method of claim 10, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplay aredetermined based on time spent by the users in cooperative activities.17. The method of claim 10, wherein the amounts of cooperative gameplayare determined further based on at least one of number of sessions inwhich the users participated in cooperative activities, number ofcooperative attempts at achieving a particular game objective, andnumber of times participating in a given cooperative activity.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the rewards include at least one of newquests, new map regions, new weapons, new technology, new skills, newtroupes, new mounts, and new power-ups available for purchase.